Your Right to Know

Former state Rep. Clayton Luckie reported to prison yesterday afternoon to start serving a
three-year sentence for illegally spending about $130,000 in campaign funds, then falsifying
documents to cover up his actions.

Luckie, 49, of Dayton, pleaded guilty in late January to eight felony charges, including money
laundering and grand theft, after an FBI investigation that started with an unreported $300
contribution to his campaign and led to the discovery of a multitude of illegal campaign
spending.

Investigators said it included $1,700 in cash withdrawals at three casinos, $1,800 for a
home-equity-loan payment, $9,825 in checks written to himself and thousands spent at retail
businesses and in ATM withdrawals. They said he also falsified invoices to cover up the spending.
He initially faced 49 criminal charges.

He also was ordered to repay the state nearly $12,000 for salary he collected after his
indictment in October, after which he did not attend committee or House sessions. Franklin County
Prosecutor Ron O’Brien is still looking into whether he should take additional action against
Luckie for his filing for $1,490 in mileage reimbursement from the state during the time when he
was not traveling to Columbus for official duties.

Luckie later withdrew the mileage request through his attorney.

He turned himself in at the Franklin County jail, where he will be held pending transfer to the
state’s Correctional Reception Center in Orient for classification. Within 30 days, he will be sent
to a state prison.

Luckie was the second lawmaker in six months convicted of crimes. In June, former House Democrat
W. Carlton Weddington of Columbus pleaded guilty to one count each of bribery, election
falsification and an ethics violation and was sentenced to three years in prison, after an FBI
sting.

After Luckie’s conviction, both O’Brien and Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted called for
lawmakers to require the filing of bank records along with campaign-finance reports to ensure
accuracy. No such bill has yet been introduced.